2013 Lamborghini Gallardo Lp560-4 on 2040-cars

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ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour loses its lid

What could possibly be better than a two-passenger, off-road performance coupe built atop the Lamborghini Gallardo platform? A topless version of said vehicle, of course. We've already showed you the ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour in fixed-roof form, and now we're able to bring you some live shots of the Parcour Roadster.
Honestly, the Parcour's lines probably look better on the hardtop model, but the Roadster's lack of top did give the ItalDesign Giugiaro crew a chance to change up the design ever so slightly. The windshield has been chopped and uses carbon-fiber pillars doubling as the vehicle's rollbars, while the hoops over the seats are also designed with safety and styling in mind. In addition to the roof, the Roadster also removes the separator between the passenger compartment and the engine bay meaning there is absolutely nothing to filter the noise created by the mid-engine 5.2-liter V10 putting down 550 horsepower.

Zagato Lamborghini 5-95 successfully aims to be an instant collectible [w/video]

1965 was the first time Zagato and Lamborghini hooked up, when the Milanese coachbuilder created the Lamborghini 3500 GTZ for Marquis Gerino Gerini. There have been several more collaborations since then, the one you see above being the latest: the Lamborghini 5-95, created for collector Albert Spiess and designed to be "a modern collectible" in honor of Zagato's 95th anniversary.
Underneath its Speed Racer curves is a Gallardo LP570-4, its visual mass pushed forward thanks to the striving front fascia and a wind deflector at the bottom of the windshield that lengthens the hood, and a shortened trunk that "reveals the brutality of the mechanical components" in back. Between them are Zagato trademarks like wraparound glass and the double-bubble roof, and the size of the obvious air intakes has been reduced by hiding others in the greenhouse and fixing a center intake above the roof.
The Lamborghini 5-95 is on show at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como in Switzerland. As for being a collectible, since it's headed straight for Spiess' garage afterward, we'd say they've got that part sealed up. For you non-collectors, there's a short video where you can hear the car fire up and a press release below with a lot more info.

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.